Although offshore drilling may not be as landmark of an event as the Apollo spaceflights and subsequent Moon landings, just like Apollo, it will help humanity explore more of the planet hidden by oceans.

In January, President Donald Trump issued an order to reopen the shores of the East Coast to the potential of offshore drilling in the effort for the nation to become energy independent. Last Friday, the U.S. Department of the Interior via the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) approved a plan to let five companies conduct seismic testing of the ocean floor from Florida to the New Jersey border, which has come with controversy attached.

The testing would utilize airguns to send sound waves into the ocean down to the seabed to map areas within the continental shelf to deliver the whereabouts of potential caches of oil and natural gas. Though, environmentalists have echoed concerns that the efforts could harm tens of thousands of dolphins, whales, and other marine animals, including endangered species that live in the waters off the East Coast.

Shell’s recent success in the US Gulf of Mexico includes its deepwater Dover discovery on Mississippi Canyon 612, reported last year, near its Appomattox platform. The well was drilled by the Deepwater Poseidon ultra-deepwater drillship. Sources: Shell, Transocean.

In lieu of the traditional shovel groundbreaking, Miami City Commission chair Ken Russell, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Miami city manager Emilio T. Gonzalez (pictured l-r) perform the ceremonial water toss to mark the start of the first Miami Forever Bond project tackling flooding and sea-level rise. (Photo by City of Miami Office of Communications)